20 Best Movie Performances Of 2016

With 2016 officially at an end, it's time to pore over those hundreds of movies released over the last twelve months and pick those 20 performances that define the best of what 2016 had to offer at the cinema.

2016 may have been an up-and-down year for movies, but for filmgoers prepared to embrace both multiplex fare and more low-key entries of the "arthouse" variety, there was a lot to savour, with one of the most effervescent blockbuster performances of recent years and, of course, a slew of turns sure to end up either winning Oscars or being egregiously snubbed for them.

Whether they end up feted with awards or flying under the radar, these are the performances that stick long in the mind after you've left the cinema for a variety of reasons.

Here are the 20 best movie performances of 2016...

Though Ryan Reynolds won't be winning any Oscars for his portrayal of Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (though he did score a Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy nomination at the Golden Globes), it's pretty much impossible to imagine anyone else playing the part now thanks to his note-perfect rendition of the character.

It helps that Reynolds reportedly had a lot of creative input in the movie and was of course keen to redeem himself after representing Deadpool so horribly in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (and let's not forget about Green Lantern either).

Reynolds helped create an off-kilter superhero like nobody else out there, immensely self-deprecating and game to go places you'd never see more mainstream superheroes. He really is the hero we deserve.